When historians describe the factors that led to the downfall of the Roman empire they can find several, but one of the major ones was the political complacency of the average person. The people stopped caring about the political leaders and their antics. They were more interested in the "bread and circuses" those leaders provided. The bread represented the things necessary for life, and the circuses provided them with the entertainment that they craved.
Does anyone recognize the comparison between what happened then and what it occurring today? We have a welfare system that provides just enough to give people the basics but not enough so they can lift themselves above the poverty that holds them in its clutches. Those who are dependent upon that system will vote for anyone who guarantees the system will continue despite any moral or character failings those people might possess.
At the other end of the spectrum tax loopholes are provided for the wealthiest among us to ensure they keep the vast majority of their wealth. It's ironic that the political leaders who cry the loudest about how the rich should pay more are the same ones who help pass such laws and, in fact, often benefit from those loopholes to hold on to their great wealth. Somehow this fact is seldom mentioned, and if it is, it's ignored by the masses.
Then we have the circuses. Cities that struggle to provide basic services for its citizens spend millions of dollars to build new stadiums and arenas to attract various sports teams. Many of these stadiums are packed out for each event as people come to support "their" team.
For those who can't afford the rising costs of tickets to attend those events we have the movie industry, TV, social media, comedy clubs, and other outlets to provide entertainment. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with entertainment, but it is often little more than a distraction to keep us from thinking too much about what is happening in our society. When a people is content with its "bread and circuses" and fails to observe what is happening in its culture it is a people that is heading to destruction.
This problem is not limited to our nation and its current problems. "Bread and circuses" are a problem in many of our churches as well. In this context the bread represents meeting the needs of our members. Too many church members are satisfied as long as their needs are being met. When the pastor makes an acceptable number of visits to the members and keeps the church machinery running smoothly most church members are content. No one bothers to ask what impact their church is making in its community or why the church isn't seeing people come to Christ.
Our churches enjoy its circuses as well. In too many churches entertainment has replaced worship. Self-help sessions have replaced theological sermons. The pastor preaches to win the applause of the people rather than the approval of God. When the service ends exactly on time and everyone leaves feeling better about themselves many church people consider it a good Sunday. And now that this is checked off their to-do list they can go on to enjoy the remainder of their week.
Being satisfied with "bread and circuses" in our churches are a major reason our churches have little impact today. It's also one reason why so many of our members are theologically illiterate. They are not being challenged to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ, to serve their communities and to grow deeper in their understanding of the Word of God. The distractions of the "bread and circuses" keeps them from thinking too deeply about any of this.
Our nation and our churches are in trouble and facing even more serious problems in the near future if we do not wake up to what is going on. We need to quit being distracted by the "bread and circuses" offered by both our national and church leaders and begin to demand more from those leaders. If they can't provide the leadership we need to turn our nation and our churches back to what they need to be then we need to replace them with people who can.
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